Readings for Sociology

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With 11 new articles and expanded coverage on race and inequality, the Fifth Edition ofReadings for Sociologyprovides students with engaging selections that reveal the complexities of our social world and help students think sociologically. New selections include articles by William Julius Williams, Mary C. Waters, Anthony Walton, Michael Burawoy, Russell Shorto, and Michael Messner, as well as new articles on globalization by James Watson, Robert Glennon, Robert Inglehart and Wayne Baker, and Paul Wapner. In addition, a wide range of classic essays by C. Wright Mills, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and others makeReadings for Sociologya comprehensive and balanced supplement to the introductory course.

Preface

xi

To the Instructor

xv

PART 1 THE STUDY OF SOCIOLOGY

Sociology as an Individual Pastime (from Invitation to Sociology)

3

(10)

Peter L. Berger

What sociology is and what sociologists do is not well understood by everyone, nor is the motivation for being a sociologist.

From The Sociological Imagination

13

(6)

C. Wright Mills

If we understand the social context and social processes around us we can better understand ourselves.

What Makes Sociology Different? (from The Rules of Sociological Method)

19

(8)

Emile Durkheim

More than the sum of its parts, society is real and can be studied usefully if we know how to see it for what it is.

Public Sociologies: Contradictions, Dilemmas, and Possibilities

27

(7)

Michael Burawoy

Sociological knowledge for whom? For what purpose. These are not easy questions to answer.

The My Lai Massacre: A Crime of Obedience? (from Crimes of Obedience: Toward a Social Psychology of Authority and Responsibility)

34

(19)

Herbert C. Kelman

V. Lee Hamilton

Was it madness and temporary insanity? Or were there social and circumstantial reasons for men to do the unthinkable?

Telling the Truth about Damned Lies and Statistics

53

(6)

Joel Best

We can't avoid statistics, so we need to become better consumers who can distinguish a fact from a fantasy.

Racism and Research: The Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study

59

(14)

Allan M. Brandt

Good science and ethical science should be our goals. Both are sadly missing in the research reported here.

PART 2 THE INDIVIDUAL, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY

Queer Customs (from Mirror for Man)

73

(8)

Clyde Kluckholm

What makes us think that our culture is normal and another person's is unusual or exotic?